Working with Problem Faculty: A Six-Step Guide for Department Chairs

When asked to name their number one concern and problem,
department leaders overwhelmingly said that it was dealing with
difficult people. Now R. Kent Crookston draws on the wisdom of
seasoned department chairs, the academic literature, and his own
experience as a department head and dean to shed new light on this
perennial problem. Working with Problem Faculty outlines a
practical six-step process that aims at improving an entire
department and charts a clear course for dealing with problem
faculty by

Clarifying values and expectations

Following policy

Building trust with colleagues

Evaluating yourself and your perceptions

Listening

Taking appropriate action

By following these six steps, department chairs are able to
challenge problem faculty with consideration, confidence, and
effectiveness.

"Anyone seeking practical help in dealing with difficult people
will appreciate this book. Using relevant examples, Crookston
describes a six-step process for managing people who might appear
to be unmanageable."
Mary Lou Higgerson, vice president for academic
affairs emeritus, Baldwin Wallace University

"Crookston has done his homework. After careful research and
decades of personal experience Dr. Crookston shares a practical,
insightful, and crucial handbook for addressing the most formidable
challenge all leaders face. And best of all, he doesn't just advise
on how to act when things go wrong, he gives proactive guidance to
ensure that things go right."
Joseph Grenny, New York Times bestselling
coauthor of Change Anything and Crucial Conversations:
Tools for Talking When Stakes are High

R. Kent Crookston is the director of the Academic
Administrative Support Program at the Brigham Young University
Faculty Center. In addition to researching academic administration,
he currently researches and teaches effective decision-making.

Connect with Wiley Publicity

San Francisco, CA - Most department chairs come into their position from the faculty and thus have no training in dealing with their colleagues when they exhibit aggressive behavior, bullying, lack of collegiality, or other varieties of challenging behavior. Yet the chair’s ability to handle people and situations appropriately is key not just to his or her success in the role but also to the department’s and its members' ability to function productively.

Rather than looking at the issue systemically, author Kent Crookston provides a practical, focused, on-the-ground approached to help chairs learn to deal with challenging colleagues. Based both on the literature and his own research, Crookston provides six steps for successfully dealing with any kind of a challenging colleague.

They are:

Clarify Values and Expectations

Follow Policy

Build Trust with Colleagues

Evaluate Yourself and Your Perceptions

Listen

Take Effective Action

Working With Problem Faculty answers questions like 'what about bullies?' and 'what about the psychologically impaired?' It is the is a must-read for those department chairs who have to face tough management questions.

Instructors

Permissions

To apply for permission please send your request to permissions@wiley.com with
specific details of your requirements. This should include, the Wiley title(s), and the specific portion of the content you wish to re-use
(e.g figure, table, text extract, chapter, page numbers etc), the way in which you wish to re-use it, the circulation/print run/number of people
who will have access to the content and whether this is for commercial or academic purposes. If this is a republication request please include details
of the new work in which the Wiley content will appear.